14 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA 
the State. Dr. Avery did not collect personally outside 
his native state and almost all the specimens listed here- 
in were taken by himself. It has been the writer’s aim 
to make of this bulletin at once a complete resume of Doc- 
tor Avery’s ornithological labors, and to bring together 
any interesting facts connected with the acquirement of 
his store of bird-lore. 
Because of the exigencies of the writer’s service with 
the U. S. Biological Survey, the work of searching 
through the Doctor’s old records and compiling his pub- 
lished papers had to be done at odd moments between 
field trips. The war caused a further delay and the 
actual writing of the manuscript was accomplished in a 
military camp after the signing of the armistice. Thus 
several years have elapsed since the collection was worked 
over but the results have not been affected by the delay 
in publication. 
It is worthy of note that Dr. Avery did not take a 
scientific interest in birds until comparatively late in 
life; this interest continued, however, until almost the 
hour of his death—7:30 o’clock on Sunday morning, 
March 11, 1894. His last specimen catalogued was a mock- 
ingbird taken on March 5th, 1894. The earliest note 
found is dated June 21, 1875, the fortieth anniversary 
of his birth, and is written in French on a page cut 
from an old journel (see under Piranga r. rubra, No. 
151). A catalogue of fifty-five numbers and an “Oologi- 
cal Register” of seven numbers, running from May 23, 
1876, to August 23, 1881, is contained on a few other 
pages from the same old account book, but few of these 
specimens are now in the collection. His really serious 
work was begun apparently in 1886, when he started a 
catalogue on July 6th. This latter catalogue is an orderly 
affair entered in five books through which are dispersed 
fragmentary journal records, notes on bird habits, song, 
nesting, and other items of interest. 
Though Dr. Avery’s published writings are not in them- 
selves of great importance, his ornithological work bore 
abundant fruit through others. He contributed quite a 
number of stomachs of raptorial birds to the U. S. Bio- 
